One of President Donald Trump’s favorite ways to mislead his supporters is by attacking the media for reporting “dishonest” things about him and threatening to change libel laws to make journalists easier to sue.
As the investigation over political corruption increases surrounding just how close Trump and his team are with Russia, Trump was back to his old tricks. He once again attacked the New York Times, highlighting an article from the slightly less reputable New York Post that claims the Times’s “dishonest” coverage of Trump is only helping him:
The failing @nytimes has disgraced the media world. Gotten me wrong for two solid years. Change libel laws? https://t.co/QIqLgvYLLi
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 30, 2017
Deadline reports that not long after Trump tweeted this out, the New York Times released a story alleging that Devin Nunes, the House Intel Committee chair (who is therefore the lead on the Trump-Russia investigation), was utilizing members of Trump’s own White House as confidential sources regarding the investigation.
It seems that Nunes’s sources may not be entirely impartial regarding his “investigation.”
Since Trump’s campaign really got off the ground, he has frequently attacked the media, specifically CNN, the Washington Post, and the New York Times, as being dishonest when covering him and his team.
Back in February, Trump told a cheering crowd at a Fort Worth, Texas rally:
“I’m going to open up our libel laws, so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money. We’re going to open up those libel laws, so when The New York Times writes a hit piece which is a total disgrace, or when The Washington Post, which is there for other reasons, writes a hit piece, we can sue them and win money instead of having no chance of winning because they’re totally protected.”
Trump seems to forget that the little document that protects these “disgraceful” journalists is the very first amendment in the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution. I wonder if the New York Times can sue Trump for claiming they are failing, despite the fact that subscriptions have increased dramatically since he entered the political arena?
Watch Trump’s promise to change libel laws below:
Featured Image via YouTube screenshot.
